Double Vision
by GoldFountain
Summary: One hand points forward, the other points backwards. Which way to go? Sometimes staying still is the best option of all.


**Double Vision**

_One hand points forward, the other points backwards. Which way to go? Sometimes staying still is the best option of all.  
_

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

A girl sprawled on a bed opened her eyes, seeing nothing but her pillow. Like many people in the morning, she felt groggy and her vision was blurry. With a dull sort of energy, she moved her arm out and felt around her nightstand for the alarm, stopping only when she heard the ringing cease. She sat up in her bed, staring blankly out into space with a dazed expression on her face. Then, in a sudden sweeping motion, the blankets were thrown off and the girl was on her feet, trudging slowly over to the bathroom in her wolf slippers and triangle decorated pajamas.

As the sound of running water came out of a faucet, the alarm clock on the nightstand sat obediently facing the bathroom door, dutifully ticking off the seconds as always.

* * *

On a very messy kitchen table, a glass of orange juice sat next to a stack of papers, which had an empty plate placed on top of it. A precariously balanced and spindly stool had a watch dangling from a twisted pile of earphone wires put on top of it. The kitchen sink was fill of dirty dishes, and a toaster nearly hidden from view behind jars of spices was ticking down slowly.

Meanwhile, a disgruntled boy scrounged around the refrigerator, tossing out bits of moldy cheese and empty soda cans as he made his way through the dishes of leftover casserole from ages past. The kitchen was getting messier with each passing second.

Right when the toast popped out, the boy let out a small exclamation, standing up holding a stick of butter in his hand victoriously. It was too soon to celebrate, however, when he took a glance at his watch dangling from the stool. He was going to be late! He ran over to the toaster and snatched up the toast, picking up a nearby knife to spread on it a dab of the butter he recently discovered.

With his bedhead uncombed and half of his shirt left untucked, the blond boy dashed out of the house, his mouth full of partially buttered toast.

* * *

_Clack._

"Good morning, Zelda! You're here five minutes early."

The girl named Zelda raised her eyebrows in mock surprise at the sound of her friend's greeting. She stepped forward, closed the door behind her, and then said in return:

"Good morning, Peach."

The bubbly blonde smiled at her with a kind of radiance found rarely in the mornings. It would not be an understatement to say that Peach was a beacon of light compared to the rest of her lethargic classmates - many found looking directly at her to be nearly blinding. Of course, having been best friends with her for ten years, Zelda was immune to Peach's brightness, and was the only one to be able to walk past her towards her desk in a nonchalant manner. And she did exactly that, with Peach following along right behind her.

"You're looking chipper as always," said Peach, laying her arms on top the back of a chair. Zelda said nothing. She looked much rather bored than chipper.

Peach accepted Zelda's silence without complaint. She lowered her head and watched Zelda take out her belongings one by one, placing them in an orderly fashion on her desk, each item having a proper place. The last item Zelda took out of her bookbag was a little black book, at which point Peach perked up with interest, raising her head slowly to try and catch a glance at the book's contents. Noticing her friend's behavior, however, Zelda immediately snapped the book shut and stuffed it back into her bag.

"Aw, why'd you close it?" Peach asked.

"I forgot you were there for a moment," said Zelda bluntly.

Peach pouted. "You always say that, and yet you always know right when I'm about to look! You never let me see what's in that little black book of yours, Zelda. I wonder what's in it?"

"It's nothing important." Zelda zipped up her bag.

Peach crossed her arms. "And that's why I'm so curious! For you to guard something that's "nothing important" so preciously, it's a mystery I haven't yet solved since I first saw you writing in that little black book ten years ago. I may not be a detective, Zelda, but I bet I can find a way to sneak a peek if I really tried - "

"And you shouldn't try," Zelda cut in with an admonishing glare. "Believe me, that book is best left unread, especially by someone like you, Peach. To unknowing eyes, it can be a nightmare."

Peach plopped down on top of a desk. She smiled mischievously and said, "Is that so? Saying that will only make me more and more curious, you know. All you're doing is tempting Pandora here."

Zelda tugged down her sleeve slightly before responding. Then, still looking at her wrist, she replied in an ominous tone, "You don't need to worry about that. I'll keep that book closed shut."

* * *

The blond boy clutched his knees, panting for some much needed breath. Finally, after jumping over fences, getting chased by dogs, and avoiding a near collision with the local mail truck, he had just now reached the school entrance. Luckily, the school guard was dozing off, and he was able to sneak by undetected. He quickly made his way up the empty stairs, glancing at the clock to see he was only five minutes late.

He slowed down as he approached his classroom door. Taking a deep breath, the boy turned the knob on the door and opened it as quietly as possible. He heard as he stepped in:

"Late again, Link? Very well, take your seat."

The boy named Link raised his head and saw the economics department head, Dr. Wright, point a baton at an empty seat by the window. Link could feel many eyed stares fall upon him, but after a moment, most of his classmates redirected their bored gazes to other, more interesting places - namely, out the window. Link walked over to his seat quickly and took out his books before putting his bag under his chair, but not before something fell out of an unzipped pocket and onto the ground with a small clatter.

Link reached his hand out, but he was too slow: someone else had already picked it up.

Link looked up into the face of a green-eyed, rather irritated looking brown-haired girl. She had a pretty face, but her most of her careful and neatness of beauty was squandered by her aura of confrontation and detachment. Then again, for the class representative, Zelda Hyrule, to have been anything otherwise would have been a sign of the apocalypse.

Zelda examined the object in her hands for a brief moment before stretching her hand out to give it back to him.

"Thanks," Link whispered, as he put his possession back into the unzipped pocket. He looked back up, anticipating to receive a small nod or perhaps even a scathing glance, but contrary to his expectations, she didn't look at him. Instead, Zelda kept her gaze fixated on the board, biting her lower lip in a rather uncharacteristic expression of... worry? Distress? Or maybe both?

Link frowned. Did something happen to her? Judging by the nervous look in her eyes, and the way she was biting her lip, that certainly seemed to be the case, but it was impossible to know exactly what happened to cause her to make that face. It must have been something big, though, that he knew for sure. Zelda Hyrule was not someone who was easily perturbed. But what was the cause?

Link turned his gaze toward out the window, where he could see the big, blue sky expand indefinitely from and beyond the horizon. It was a sunny day, clear and cloudless, as it should be during the summer.

He wondered...

* * *

_Riiiiing!_

Once the dismissal bell rang, most of the students bustled out of the door to go home or to go to their clubs. A few students remained in the classrooms - some were assigned cleaning duty and some stayed behind to simply chat.

Zelda, being the class representative, was a part of the first group. She made the last rounds around their classroom to check if everything was cleaned properly and would dismiss the students on cleaning duty if their job was satisfactory.

Although, Zelda was also someone who belonged in the second group, if only involuntarily. Peach was able to chat endlessly with anyone, and was even moreso with her best friend. Today, Peach was talking more to herself than to Zelda, but that was usually the case when she was left free to ramble.

"It's finally Friday! I can't wait for the flea market tomorrow! Are you going, Zelda?"

"I'll probably stop by and browse for a bit."

"Ooh, you should! You just might find something! I know I might be able to get something classic to use as an accessory for the costumes I'm designing for the play. Perhaps I'll find a rusty locket for Alice, and a pocket watch for the White Rabbit... Oh, Zelda, can we go to the gardens after this?" Peach asked, once she saw Zelda begin to pack up her belongings. "I want to look at the turnips."

"Yes, of course," said Zelda absentmindedly. She glanced outside the window. The sky was still clear and cloudless.

Peach smiled happily. She continued to ramble, "Great! You're going to be amazed when you see them. Even though I'm not in the Gardening Club - or was it the Horticulture Club, I forget what they're called - and turnips aren't very interesting vegetables in the slightest, I've been going there myself whenever a new one pops up. These turnips they have are quite different, as you'll soon find out. Why, they all have faces! Yes, faces that look as though they were drawn with a marker pen! And they all have different expressions to boot! Let me see, I think one I saw one with a smiling face, one that was crying, one that had its mouth stitched like a voodoo doll's, and even one with - "

"I'm sorry, Peach, but do you mind coming with me to the student council room?" Zelda asked suddenly.

Peach seemed startled. "The student council room? I don't mind. But why? Did you leave something there?"

"Oh, no. I just need to pick up a few papers. It'll take but just a few minutes, I promise," said Zelda, waving an airy hand as she slipped her bookbag onto her shoulder.

"Darling Zelda, you know I'd go anywhere with you. Let us go!" said Peach in an overly theatrical tone fitting for an actress. She skipped daintily towards the door.

Zelda was about to follow her friend when someone tapped her on the shoulder and said:

"And you'll let us go as well, won't you?"

Zelda turned around to see a young boy wearing a white exomis smiling at her. He had messy brown hair and was sporting a rather proud expression on his cherubic face. Zelda noticed a blond boy wearing a green felt cap was standing behind Pit with his back towards them as he gazed out the window.

"Did you forget about us? After all the work we've done to make this classroom sparkling clean? I'm shocked, class rep," said the boy, crossing his arms.

Zelda sighed. She said wearily, "No, I didn't forget about you and Link, Pit." She looked around and gave a quick appraisal of the room before telling the beaming boy, "The classroom seems to be clean enough. Very well, you two may go."

"Alright!" said Pit, pumping his fist in the air. He turned and added, "Did you hear that, Link? She said we could go!"

Right as Pit took his first step out the door, he stumbled; someone had clapped their hand on his shoulder, _hard_.

"You're lucky you had Link as your partner this time. Keep in mind, Pit, that you're going to have to do all of the cleaning yourself someday," the voice breathed into Pit's ear. "I saw you sweep that cookie under the loose floor tile. Don't think you'll be able to keep on storing food there - "

Peach, who was already halfway down the hall, called out:

"I'm going to run on ahead, Zelda! I just heard that the Confectionery Club is giving out free cupcakes to people downstairs; they're trying out some new flavors, apparently! Do you want me to grab one for you?"

Zelda released her grip from Pit's shoulder and shouted in reply, "Sure, that'd be great, thanks! I'll be down soon!"

When Zelda turned, she saw that Pit was already gone. The little bugger fled at the first chance he could get. Oh well. She could always scold him later, though by tomorrow he'll probably have already moved his food reserves to a new storage spot. Zelda glanced at her watch and straightened her bookbag, getting ready to leave the classroom herself when she heard a voice say:

"It's raining..."

Zelda whisked around.

Still standing by the window was Link, who was watching the ground get steadily darker. Storm clouds had formed in the sky, when it was completely clear just minutes before.

* * *

Link stared at the bustling crowd before him. He never would have expected there to be this many customers for a flea market. The last time he visited this street market, it was empty; the place was desolate enough for a family of tumbleweeds to move in. That was a year ago. Perhaps the place changed since then, but nevertheless Link felt surprised seeing so many people gathered at the same place at once.

He sighed; finding the item his mother wanted would be difficult with such a big crowd in the way. Talking to someone was inevitable. Link detested talking with shopkeepers especially - he was not a very good haggler - but he knew he had to put his personal preferences aside if he didn't want to waste time searching. He set off for the nearest stall with the intent of asking the shopkeeper where he might be able to find an Altean-styled tazza.

As Link was trying to memorize directions told to him by a rather disgruntled Toad, he suddenly heard a small clapping sound beside him. Link turned and saw an open book on the ground by his feet; he bent down to pick it up. The book was of good-quality: it had a strong spine and a cover made out of black leather, but its age could be seen by the worn corners and fringed pages. For some reason, the book felt familiar in his hands. Whose was it? There was no name or any initials on the back or cover, from what he saw.

Hesitating slightly, Link decided to open the book. He read the first page, where a date and initials of "Z.H." was scribbled on the upper right corner in disjointed, childish handwriting. Upon first inspection, the book seemed to be a diary. Unlike most diary entries, however, this one began not with "Dear Diary," but instead started with a list of times. With his curiosity reluctantly piqued, Link began flipping through the book, only to hear a voice shout:

"Ah, that's mine, sir! Please give it back - "

A girl was standing in front of him, frozen in her tracks. Link gulped. The look in her eyes was frightening - frightening because of how much fear was in the look itself.

Link, startled, raised and arm and said, "Zelda? Is that you - Wha?! Hey, wait!"

He was too late; she had already disappeared back into the crowd. Link snapped the book shut and ran off, chasing after her.

* * *

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Zelda was panting heavily; she was not much of a runner. She could run when she had to, but long distance running like this was not her forte. She simply didn't have the endurance. It was a shame that the same cannot be said of the one that was chasing her. Zelda glanced behind her, and in the distance amongst the crowd of people she could see the characteristic green hat of her pursuer bobbing ever closer and closer.

Zelda weaved in and out around the busy market goers, not having enough time to apologize to those that were in her way. She could hear the sound of a dog barking as she inadvertently knocked over a basket of apples from a swing of her purse. She wheeled around a corner down into a series of alleys.

It might have been wise for her to stop now lest she use up more of her energy, but for some reason, she kept on running. In her heart, however, Zelda knew that it was only a matter of time until she was going to run into a dead end or getting caught by him. Whichever came first (most likely the latter, given how tired she was already), though, Zelda would try to delay it for as long as possible. She told herself that she was going to run as far as her legs can take her. The only thing in her mind was running. That was all she felt like doing, and that was what she did. She wished that she could run forever, and leave this current present behind...

Zelda paused and took a breather when she had reached a four-way intersection. The alley in front of her was pitch black. The alley leading to the right was littered with paper airplanes, and had a strange fog surrounding it. The alley to her left was bright and sunny, as the sun was shining right down on that nook and cranny at that moment, but the mewling of what sounded like a hundred cats signified a death sentence if she dared to enter. She considered her options; none of the alleys seemed all that comfortable. The dark alley in front of her was probably the least threatening one out of the three. Should she pick that one? At least then she knew she would be going straight. Just as Zelda was about to begin running again, she felt something latch onto her arm:

"Gotcha!"

Zelda recognized that voice. She didn't bother to turn around. Not yet, anyways. She knew there was no escaping it; she had to confront him. He had her little black book, and now he also had her. Blast it, that stupid book; why did she ever write in it in the first place?

* * *

Link had his hand gripped tightly around Zelda's wrist. There was no way he was going to let her wring her way out of this. Even in a panic, Zelda was clever - she purposely chose to ran in the crowded marketplace so as to confuse him, but it didn't work. Not after what he was able to see.

Even though he had succeeded, however, Link felt unsure about what to do next. He had caught up to Zelda. Now what? He considered showing her the book, but that might startle her. She might not even know he had it. Zelda - level-headed Zelda!- cleared his doubts for him, thankfully, by saying in a rather brusque tone of voice:

"So, you've caught me. What are you going to do now? I can see that you have my book there in your hands."

Link looked down at his other hand, which was clutching onto the little black book. A little black book of secrets. Zelda's little black book of secrets. And now his, by extension of him knowing what was inside it.

"I'm returning it to you."

Zelda was unconvinced. "What are your conditions?" she asked, glaring at him.

Link raised an eyebrow. He seemed confused. Zelda spoke for him.

"Please, enough with the clueless act. I know you want something from me. If you desired to return my book back to me, you could have done so in a much less confrontational manner. And both you and I know that you're the least confrontational person of us all."

Link dropped his sheepish look. Then, rather sourly, he replied, "You were the one who ran away. What choice did I have, other than chasing after you? But fine. I have only one condition."

"And?" Zelda kept glaring at him.

Zelda recoiled; Link had suddenly put his face distressingly close to hers. He was looking into her eyes, and she into his similarly hued blue ones. For someone who was not confrontational in the slightest, Link could certainly force himself to be when the time called for it.

"I want you to tell me the story behind this book. The whole story," Link said. Zelda opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off by continuing, "You don't have to tell me now. I can wait. I... I just want you to tell me sometime. That's all."

Upon saying those last couple of words, Link had retracted his head, and had released his grip on her wrist. Zelda didn't run away. Not when he still had her book in his hands.

Link had his eyes toward the ground, his feet scuffing his feet in the dirt like an abashed boy caught guilty. And he did feel guilty. No matter how one looked at it, this was extortion. Link knew Zelda didn't have to accept his terms; she had every right not to.

Both of them remained silent for a few moments. Then, Link heard her say:

"I accept."

From what he could hear, there was no trace of malice or resignation in Zelda's voice, but Link thought he tasted a tinge of sadness somewhere, lodged deep in the back of her throat. He gulped.

Link handed her back the book.

* * *

_Ding dong._

Zelda was writing when her doorbell rang. After finishing her sentence, Zelda got up from her seat and hurried the door, pruning the dust off her dress before opening it. Upon seeing a green felt cap and familiar face, however, she stopped trying to make herself presentable and said:

"Oh, it's you."

Link rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

"Sorry for dropping in without notice."

"You're already here, so it's too late to apologize for that," said Zelda in her blunt, characteristic manner. "I assume you're here for the story?"

"If it's not a problem with you. Are you busy?"

"No, it's fine. I'm not going to be doing anything this afternoon." Zelda opened the door wider. "Please come in."

"Thanks. Here, I brought some milk for you," said Link, handing a bag he was carrying over to her.

Zelda looked inside and picked up a bottle. She read the label aloud:

"'Lon Lon Milk'?"

"It's made fresh from a local farm. My friend's dad is the one who runs it, and she gives me a few bottles every once in a while," said Link. "It's organic, too."

"I'm happy to have received it. Thank you," said Zelda. She put the bottle back into the bag and walked in front of him. "Please follow me."

She led him into a sitting room. Fitting much according to Zelda's personality, the room was modestly furnished and cleanly kept - Link thought he did not see even a speck of dust in the air.

"Have a seat and make yourself comfortable while I put these in the fridge."

Link did so and watched her walk down the hall, milk bottles in hand. He examined his surroundings as he waited for a few minutes, standing up when he saw Zelda come back with a tray of iced tea and cookies in her hands.

"Ah, thank you, but it's fine," Zelda said, putting down the tray onto the coffee table. She then took a seat herself, located opposite of him so that they were face-to-face.

Zelda gestured to the tray. "Please, help yourself. I hope you don't mind cookies and iced tea?"

"No, not at all. Thanks," said Link, picking up a mushroom-shaped cookie and biting into it. His eyes widened slightly. "Oh, wow, these are delicious. Did you make them yourself?"

"If only. No, Peach made these. Every time she bakes cookies, she ends up making too much and drops a bag of them on my doorstep. She does this almost daily. I frequently wonder how she can stand getting covered in flour all the time, but that's beside the point," said Zelda. She stood up. "Just a second, please. I need to close the curtains."

When Zelda returned and with the room considerably darker, she produced from behind her an object Link was all too familiar with: the little black book. Before taking her hand off of it, however, Zelda looked directly into Link's eyes and asked:

"Before we begin, I would like to ask you one question."

Link swallowed the last bite of his cookie and wiped the crumbs off his lips. He said hesitantly, "Um, alright?"

"Did you tell anyone else about this?"

"This? You mean about the book?"

"And everything else about this business. Did you?"

Link shook his head. "No, I did not."

Zelda gave him a long, hard stare. Link's eyes began to drift away; he began to fidget. After about a minute, he couldn't tolerate anymore staring and blurted out:

"Please, don't give me that look. I'm sorry for reading your book, but I couldn't help it. There was no way to identify whose it was."

Upon hearing Link's attempt at an explanation, Zelda dropped her glare. She said with a sigh, "I'm not bitter. Though, judging by your nervous look, you don't believe that at all."

"I might have believed you if you didn't stare at me for so long."

"It was a necessary precaution. I had to make sure you were telling the truth."

"How are you supposed to know that just by staring at me?"

"I believe you already know how."

"What, are you a mind reader?"

"No, but I'm something fairly close," Zelda said flatly.

With that said, Zelda took her hand off the cover of her little black book. She flipped open to the first page, and handed the book over to Link.

"Read it."

Link didn't have to look closely at it - he had already seen this page once before, after all. He still had to, though, as the messy and childish writing was difficult to read. He said slowly, "'_7:05 A.M. - School bus will be late. 9:15 A.M. - Sammie will give me a present. 12:10 P.M. - Teacher will let us go to lunch early.'_"

"Well, do you see?"

Link said, "I do."

"You do."

It was a statement, not a question.

Link took a sip of the iced tea. When he put it back down onto the tray, he said, "It's pretty clear to me. What you wrote down, it's not a daily list of events, is it? Not of anything that you've seen already, at any rate. There's a common link between all of these times."

He pointed to a single word:

_will_

"These are all times of events that have yet to happen. You're not a mind reader. But you can read the future, can't you?" Link said, looking up from the sheet at Zelda's eyes.

Zelda sat still. She gazed coolly back at him, calm and composed. There was no need for her to be surprised, since she already knew what was going to happen. Any surprise she had would have showed on her five minutes ago.

After about a minute or so of silence, Zelda said quietly, "I can't read the future. I'm not that omniscient. But I do catch glimpses of it - a superimposed image of what the scene in front of me might look like five minutes later."

Link stayed silent.

"You must have figured it out a long time ago," she continued. "You couldn't have guessed so perfectly going off of just that first entry in the book. I'm sure you can tell by the handwriting that I wrote those times when I was a young child - when I was but just six years old. For all you know, those words might have been written by a child who knew only how to write in future tense. But you knew the truth from the very beginning, didn't you?"

Link picked up his glass of iced tea.

"No," said Link, after taking a sip. "I didn't know, actually. Up to now, I wasn't sure if I was right. I had my suspicions, though. Ever since that day in class when I was assigned cleaning duty."

"When you were on cleaning duty? Do you mean the day when you were partnered up with Pit?"

"Yeah."

"Give me a moment."

Zelda began to flip through her little black book. Her eyes moved rapidly back and forth as she quickly read through each page's contents. Finally, after finding what she had wanted, she snapped the book shut.

"So it was that day. The day before the flea market. The day it rained."

"Exactly. After school that day, I remember you telling your friend Peach to wait for a few minutes, giving her the excuse that you had to seemingly pick up a few papers. The sky was clear at that moment. A few minutes later, when you dismissed Pit and I, it had suddenly started raining. I thought it to be a bit uncanny - you telling Peach to wait for a few minutes, and during those few minutes that rain began to fall."

"But how were you sure that it wasn't a coincidence? It rains quite frequently in the summer."

"That's true, but it's primarily because of how fleeting summer thunderstorms can be that I thought it wasn't a coincidence. The weather forecast for that day was supposed to be sunny. And it was, for most of the day. The only time it wasn't was during those few minutes when it rained after school."

"I see. But even then - "

"It might have been a coincidence?" Link cut in. "That may be true. Rarer things have happened. But the thing that tipped me off the most, however, was your motive."

"My... motive?"

"Peach wanted to go to the gardens. The gardens are located pretty far from the school, far enough that it would most likely take more than five minutes to walk there from our classroom. That's why you asked her to come with you to the student council room. You saw that it was going to rain in five minutes time, and knew that if you two began walking to the gardens then, both of you would have gotten drenched. Neither of you would have brought an umbrella, I assume, as it hadn't rained at all that week."

Link finished speaking. He had crossed his arms, and was now looking expectantly at Zelda to see if she had any more suggestions. She did not. Instead, she smiled, much to his surprise.

"You're quite right. Everything you said was true," said Zelda. "I have no objections. I have to say that I'm impressed by your deductive reasoning skills."

Link began to say, "I'm flattered - "

"But I wouldn't say that your skills are great," Zelda interrupted. "After all, you've always had a far bigger hint than anything you've said so far. It's true, isn't it? Aren't you the same?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you know."

Link blinked. There was no use in hiding it from her. He knew that she knew, and she knew that he knew.

"I am, but not quite," he said with a small shrug.

"I understand," said Zelda, nodding. "You're the opposite of me. You can see five minutes into the past."

"Five minutes into the past... How'd you guess?"

"I suspected so when I picked up your watch during class the other day. It was five minutes slower than our classroom's clock, and was ten minutes slower than mine. Plus, it explains why you're always late."

For a fleeting moment, Link's eyes widened with surprise. He regained his composure quickly, however, and said with a smile, "Yes, it's true. I can see glimpses of changes in scenes five minutes earlier at my current location, just like you. It's how I was able to know where you went during that chase in the marketplace."

"Oh?" Zelda raised an eyebrow, smiling a little bit herself. "Please explain."

"The main clue was the fallen basket of apples. I could see that five minutes earlier it was standing upright, but when I ran through, it had fallen over. There weren't a lot of people at that part of the market, so it couldn't have gotten knocked over due to a bustling crowd. Therefore I thought someone who was in a hurry must have knocked it down. The only candidate at the time was you."

"I see. You think quick on your feet."

"It's an ability that comes with powers like ours. Still, you're probably more skilled than I am at it, with your powers of precognition and all."

Zelda gave him a disapproving glance.

"Not necessarily. The visions I see can be misleading. It's easy to form the wrong conclusions for an event that may not happen - there have been cases when what I see doesn't come true - and all the more dangerous because of it," said Zelda, looking down at her hands. "It's why I don't typically pay attention to these glimpses, but rather only to the ones which I know I have no control over, such as the weather. At least with what you can see five minutes earlier, those things have already happened, and thus your conclusions are in all likelihood more concrete than mine."

"I-I guess so," Link said. "I'm sorry if I - "

"Please, don't be," Zelda interrupted, her voice sounding slightly strained. "I'm quite used to it - feeling unsure, I mean. I may not be able to see very far into the future, but that doesn't give these visions I see any less of an impact. A lot can happen in five minutes. But I shouldn't be preaching to you. After all, you're probably in a worse position than I am. You may sometimes have to see what has already happened - twice."

"There are some things I prefer not seeing again, you're right about that. But there are also times when I _do_ want to see something again: the sun setting on the horizon, the sight of two birds in courting, and the smile of a friend I spoke to five minutes ago - I'm glad I'm able to relive such beautiful moments. This power of mine has its benefits, and I'm sure yours does too - you prevented your friend from running out into the rain, after all. That's something I can't do," said Link, smiling gently.

"I appreciate your words. Yes, I am thankful for this power of mine; it has its uses. Although, I always find myself wondering in the end whether or not it'd be better if I didn't have this power at all. If only - " Zelda stopped.

"If only?"

"Never mind," said Zelda.

She paused for a moment to think. Link helped himself to another cookie. Once he finished munching and had taken a drink, Zelda asked him:

"When did you begin having this power? Do you know?"

Link scratched his head. "I've been like this for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty sure, anyways."

"Are you sure? Because it was when I had this watch did I start seeing double," Zelda said, twisting her watch around her wrist. She seemed agitated.

"Y-Your watch?"

"Yes. When I was little, I got this watch as a birthday present from my parents. It was also my last birthday present from them. I don't know when, but it got five minutes ahead at some point and since then I've never been able to turn the time back. I believe that was when I first began seeing glimpses of the future."

"Funny, because now that you mention it, I think my visions started when I got this watch I'm wearing, too. My dad passed it down to me, saying that it belonged to my grandfather once. I fiddled around with it the day I got it, having somehow adjusted it so that it became five minutes slow. I remember getting frustrated at not being able to change it back," Link said.

Link rolled up his sleeve and showed his watch to her. Zelda leaned forward to look. After examining it for a few seconds, she asked:

"Are you sure it's five minutes slow?"

"What? Of course," Link said, surprised. "It's been five minutes slow for at least ten years now. I think I'd notice if it suddenly changed."

"Really? Because if I'm reading the time on it correctly, it's actually only a little more than four minutes behind," said Zelda, glancing at her own watch.

"But that can't be!" Link cried, looking at his watch, then back at a nearby wall clock. His eyes widened. Then, he said in an incredulous voice, "I can't believe it, but it - it is. My watch is four minutes behind! How? Someone must have adjusted it, but no, that's impossible. And I didn't let anyone touch it recently. Who could have done it?"

"Well, if you looked at all of the possible candidates, the most likely one to have done it would probably be - " Zelda pointed to herself. "Me."

Link stared. "Y-You?"

"Did you forget that quickly? I picked up your watch for you during class that fateful day, remember? I must have twisted the dial accidentally while I was examining it."

"But, still, that's impossible. No one has been able to adjust the time on this watch. Not even all of the professional watchmakers I've asked have been able to!"

"Well, there's only one way to check and see if it's impossible or not. Let's try it, shall we?" Zelda suggested, motioning for him to give her his watch.

Link did so. He watched Zelda as she twisted the dial of his watch effortlessly. She tossed it back to him. Link compared the time on the wall clock with the time on his newly adjusted watch. Sure enough, the times matched.

"You can adjust it! But how?!"

"I'm not quite sure. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it's because we're the same - linked together by a pair of parallel powers. You're stuck five minutes in the past, while I am stuck five minutes in the future. Wouldn't it make sense for me to see five minutes ahead of whatever you were seeing - the present time, in other words?"

"But then, wouldn't it work the same way in reverse? Wouldn't I be able to adjust your own watch?"

"Probably. Why don't you try it as well?" said Zelda, as she took her battered wristwatch off. She handed it to him.

Much like before, but with the roles reversed, Zelda watched as Link adjusted her watch. His hands were hesitant at first, being so used to an immovable dial, but after he found he was able to twist it smoothly, both of their eyes widened at the sight of the moving hand.

"Well, it worked. Your watch is five minutes slower now."

"That it is," said Zelda. She put a hand to her chin, looking thoughtful. Then, in a quiet voice, she added, "But will this change anything, I wonder?"

"Hm?"

"It's nothing. Anyways, I'm glad that our watches have been adjusted properly. It'll be difficult getting used to this watch being on the right time, however, as strange as that sounds," Zelda said with a small laugh.

"The same goes double for me," said Link, chuckling slightly himself. "This watch looks like it belongs to someone else now, just because the time on it looks the same as the watches of everyone else." Link glanced at his watch.

"Speaking of time, it seems to be getting late. I've intruded on you for long enough," Link continued. He got up from his seat and extended his hand to Zelda. "Thanks for having me over, and thanks for telling me your story today. I apologize if anything I've said angered you today."

Zelda stood up and took his hand into hers, shaking them firmly. She didn't know exactly what to say, other than:

"I don't feel angry at all. I never did."

"I thought so."

"Oh?"

"Whenever you talked with other members of our class lightheartedly, I couldn't help but feel as though you were still separated from them, in a way. As though you were in your own little world. I thought it was just due to your personality at first, but then of course, I realized the truth," explained Link, as he put on his shoes.

"That's... smart of you," Zelda said frankly.

"It's because we share the same feelings that I was able to understand. Anyhow, I'll be going. See you tomorrow at school, Zelda."

"Sure. Good-bye, Link."

The door closed with a click. Zelda slowly walked back to the sitting room, crouching against a wall once she entered. She hugged her knees and whispered quietly:

"Because we share the same feelings, huh?"

* * *

A few weeks later...

Link sighed as he checked his wristwatch. He hoped he wasn't going to be late again. Given how things this morning were going, his hopes were probably in vain. He had set the alarm on the alarm clock an hour early, only to wake up that morning and find out that the alarm didn't ring - or he slept through it, but that was a possibility he was willing to deny. He picked out what clothes he was going to wear the night before, only to spill orange juice all over them in his haste and thus ruin the outfit entirely. He even set up his bicycle ready to ride right outside the door, but only upon sitting in it and trying to pedal did he realize that the chain had come loose.

Now that his bicycle was rendered unusable, along with the fact that calling a taxi at this point would have been nearly impossible due to him having lost the phone since last week, Link had only one option left to reach his destination in a timely manner. He ran.

The park was only a mile away. For someone as athletic as Link, running such a distance was child's play. Still, he would have liked to not work up a sweat when he met her. She would not approve of it at all, but Link felt she'd understand the circumstances which forced him to be like this.

Link arrived at the park in a few minutes. He glanced at his watch and was relieved to find that he made it on time. Link rested for a moment to catch his breath. He shouldn't have ran so hurriedly, having already gotten used to the feeling of probably being late, but he had promised himself that he would never wish to see the day when he didn't care about being late - such a feeling would be the end of him. That was why he still tried to make up as much time as possible, so as to minimize the consequences whenever he _was_ late.

Of course, there were other reasons, but as for now, those other reasons will have to wait. Link had a girl to meet.

* * *

_A red-haired, bearded gentleman sat on a bench alone in Toadstool Park, reading the newspaper. As he turned the pages, he could hear a conversation between what sounded like two tweeting birds out on a date._

_"Ah, you're here - and on time, for once!"_

_"'For once'? I've been on time ever since you adjusted that watch of mine. And what about you? Did you just get here, or did you arrive five minutes early, as usual?"  
_

_"I arrived here early - though it was less than five minutes. I waited for a minute or so before you arrived. But still, me being early doesn't matter, does it? I still come early more out of habit than anything."_

_"I'm glad I'm finally breaking out of my own habit."_

_"Are you still worried about being late? You don't have to worry about that anymore, ever since our watches have been matched up. See, look!"_

_"You're right."_

_"Isn't it nice?"_

_"Being freed from our double vision, you mean?"_

_"Yes, it's such a relief. I miss seeing what only I can see sometimes, I do, but still, there's nothing better than seeing everything with everyone else."_

_"I feel the same way. Well, in case of those times when you miss it so much that you do want it back, you know who to call. I can adjust your watch anytime for you."_

_"You can come to me whenever you want me to adjust your watch, too. Although, I doubt you'll be asking me often."_

_"Haha, we'll see, shall we?"_

_"Oh yes. We certainly will."_

_At the same time, same place..._

_They finally met._


End file.
